Quick answer
Milk wine is traditionally drunk neat, but it works well in simple cocktails. Top it with soda water or tonic for a light highball, with ginger beer for a spiced long drink, or with sparkling wine for a festive spritz. Add a splash to black tea or coffee for a warming after-dinner drink. Its sweetness and spice also suit a sour with fresh lime. Keep proportions simple and let the milk wine's flavour show.
Key takeaways
- Milk wine is traditionally drunk neat at room temperature.
- Topped with soda or tonic, it makes a light highball.
- With ginger beer, it makes a spiced long drink.
- With sparkling wine, it makes a festive spritz.
- A splash in tea or coffee makes a warming after-dinner drink.
The tradition: neat
Before mixing, taste milk wine neat. Pour a small glass at room temperature and sip it with a piece of Christmas cake, as Sri Lankan families do. This shows its caramel, citrus and spice at their clearest.
Most Sri Lankan hosts would never mix milk wine, and serving it in a cocktail in someone's home would be unusual. Cocktails are for your own bottle, at home or with friends who know the drink.
That said, milk wine is a close relative of clarified milk punch, a classic cocktail, and bartenders have long used it as a base.
Bartenders who make clarified milk punch often say the best version is the simplest. The same applies to milk wine: its balance of sweetness, citrus and spice is already finished, so any mixer should add lift or length rather than new flavours.
Highball and long drinks
The simplest milk wine cocktail is a highball. Pour about 50 ml of milk wine over ice in a tall glass and top with 100 to 150 ml of chilled soda water or tonic. Add a twist of lime peel. The bubbles lift the citrus and spice.
For a spiced long drink, top with ginger beer instead. Sri Lankan ginger beer is spicier than many foreign brands and pairs well with milk wine's cinnamon and cloves.
King coconut water makes a gentle, tropical long drink with milk wine, a pairing some Colombo bars have explored.
- →Soda or tonic: light highball.
- →Ginger beer: spiced long drink.
- →King coconut water: tropical.
Spritz and sparkling
For a festive spritz, pour about 30 ml of milk wine into a flute and top with chilled sparkling wine. It makes a golden, lightly spiced aperitif for Christmas or New Year.
A wine glass with ice, 50 ml of milk wine, 75 ml of sparkling wine and a splash of soda gives a longer, lighter spritz.
Garnish with orange peel or a cinnamon stick.
- →Flute: milk wine and sparkling wine.
- →Wine glass: with soda and ice.
- →Garnish: orange peel or cinnamon.
A milk wine sour
Milk wine's sweetness means it needs little added sugar in a sour. Shake 50 ml of milk wine, 25 ml of fresh lime juice and, if you like, 15 ml of arrack with ice, and strain into a chilled glass.
The lime sharpens the drink, and the extra arrack adds backbone. Adjust to taste: more lime for a sharper drink, less for a gentler one.
Because milk wine is already clarified, this sour is clear and silky.
A pinch of grated nutmeg or a single clove pressed into a strip of lime peel makes a fragrant garnish that echoes the spices inside the milk wine.
Tea and coffee
A splash of milk wine in hot black tea makes a warming drink for a cool evening, especially in the hill country. Ceylon tea, with its brisk character, pairs well with the citrus and spice.
In black coffee, milk wine adds sweetness and spice, a little like a coffee liqueur. Add about 25 ml to a small cup.
Lankan Stays & Trails guests staying in hill country bungalows at Christmas sometimes enjoy milk wine in tea by the fire.
- →Black tea: Ceylon tea, a splash of milk wine.
- →Coffee: about 25 ml.
- →Setting: a cool evening.
Tips for mixing
Keep it simple. Milk wine has delicate flavours that strong mixers or many ingredients can hide.
Remember that milk wine is roughly 15 to 20 per cent alcohol, so a cocktail with extra arrack is strong. Pace yourself.
Use good ice and chilled mixers, and serve cocktails cold, unlike neat milk wine.
- →Simple: few ingredients.
- →Strength: watch extra spirit.
- →Cold: chilled mixers and ice.
Frequently asked questions
Can milk wine be used in cocktails?
Yes. Although it is traditionally drunk neat, milk wine works well in simple cocktails: topped with soda, tonic or ginger beer, mixed with sparkling wine for a spritz, shaken into a sour or added to tea or coffee. Keep the recipes simple.
What mixer goes with milk wine?
Soda water or tonic make a light highball, ginger beer a spiced long drink, sparkling wine a festive spritz and king coconut water a gentle tropical drink. Sri Lankan ginger beer, which is spicy, pairs especially well with milk wine.
How do I make a milk wine spritz?
Pour about 30 ml of milk wine into a flute and top with chilled sparkling wine. Or, in a wine glass with ice, combine 50 ml of milk wine, 75 ml of sparkling wine and a splash of soda. Garnish with orange peel.
Can I add milk wine to tea?
Yes. A splash of milk wine in hot black tea, especially Ceylon tea, makes a warming drink for a cool evening. The citrus and spice of the milk wine complement the brisk tea. It works well in the hill country at Christmas.
Do Sri Lankans mix milk wine?
Rarely. In Sri Lankan homes, milk wine is drunk neat, in small glasses, with Christmas cake. Mixing it is more a cocktail bar or home experiment. Some bars serve a clarified milk punch, the cocktail milk wine descends from.
Is a milk wine cocktail strong?
It depends on the recipe. Milk wine is roughly 15 to 20 per cent alcohol; topped with soda it becomes lighter, but adding arrack makes it stronger. Pace yourself, and never drink before driving.
Should milk wine cocktails be served cold?
Yes. Unlike neat milk wine, which is served at room temperature, cocktails made with milk wine are best served cold, with good ice and chilled mixers. The cold lifts the citrus and keeps the sweetness in check, especially in a highball or spritz.